My fellow conservatives - an admonition

Yes, we lost. Yes, it's an unhappy moment for conservatism. Yes, there will be policies we disagree with that will be able to be pushed through in the next few years.

And yes, Barack Obama will be our President.

It is here where I seek to issue my first admonition to my fellow conservatives. If you recall the supreme silliness and shrill idiocy that we believed the "Not my president" folks showed over the Bush years, we must, must, MUST be careful to not allow this shrillness and hypocrisy to enter our vocabulary. For all of our disagreements, this man was very fairly elected as president by a very healthy electoral college margin, and even by a recognizable majority of our fellow Americans. Even if we vehemently disagree with all of the policies that this man and his fellow Democrats may want to push through, we must continue to allow the political process to work rather than act like the petulant sore loser children we have been seeing the past 8 years.

Let us not be sore losers, but rather use this as a wake-up call to renew our efforts. There are congressional elections in 2 years - if we seek to prevent unwelcome policies from being advanced, then we need to elect a congress that is less friendly to these policies, not sit around and pout.

Walking around talking about our new president elect's skin color as if it mattered, being an "antichrist", being a "secret Muslim", or any of these other petulant, childish, slanderous, and idiotic perspectives simply places us in the exact same light as the idiots we have been annoyed by for the past 8 years.

I implore you to be better than that. Let us lead by example, be gracious in defeat! I may be in vehement disagreement with the man's politics, but I am glad for the example he may provide to young people. I agree with Dr. Cosby, that there is a very unfortunate dearth of examples of success for minority youngsters that do not come from the dubious horrors/idiocy of the entertainment/sports/religiotainment industry. Granted, there have been many such examples of success that do NOT come from these sources, but because many have been labeled conservatives, somehow this (sadly and wrongly) strips them of validity in the eyes of many. Obama went to ivy league, is well-educated, and has led a successful public service life. He may have policies I strongly dislike, but he does provide a positive example to millions of young folks who need to view such life paths (education, public service, etc) in a more positive light.

For my second admonition, I urge us to recall the cyclic nature of politics. I am a pragmatist, and one who wholeheartedly believes in the "sheeple" behavior of people. It is an unsurprising thing to me that people did not want to keep the same party in power. Rather than understand the complexities that underlie running such a complex and powerful country, the public always goes for the "throw the bums out" psychological mentality after enough time of any party being in power. They threw the republican bums out when they'd had 12 years of Reagan+H.W. Then they threw out the democratic bums when they'd had 8 years of Clinton. Now the pendulum has swung the other way. Even if Obama is re-elected, this pendulum is due to reverse.  I never expected, never will expect, and actually HOPE that no one party ever stays in power too long. Let's deal with this reality, and allow life to move on.

If you have the time, go read into the history of Hoover and his re-election campaign against FDR. A nervous and unhappy public will always vote for whatever is considered to bring them "hope" at the given time, and blame all the current problems on the outgoing folks, regardless of where the realities lie.

However, no matter what has happened, I can still say that I am proud of this country. We have managed to have yet another hotly contested election, and yet the transfer of power will be a peaceful affair. There may be idiots who will act in our name as the idiots have been acting for the past 8 years, but by and large the public will accept the new President and simply look to the next elections to change things with which they disagree.

Just to give us a REALLY CLOSE example of how much better we have it than many other people, is my other home - Mexico. There was a hotly contested election in the summer of 2006. That is now over 2 years ago. The loser has never conceded. He instead set up a "real government" and holds court every day. His supporters are an uncomfortably large percentage of the country, and to this day he can still paralyze the capital by having his supporters swamp the city with protests, sit-ins, and generalized idiocy. The inaugural day for President Calderon was one of national shame on the world stage. To have these idiots take over congress like they did, requiring the new president to show up stealthily and run in there to take his oath of office between fistfights was a true low point in our national politic.

I re-iterate my admonition. Let us remember the idiocy in behavior we have seen from presidential dissidents the past 8 years and not allow ourselves to stoop to those levels. I implore you to be more of a thinker than that. Barack Obama may support policies that I am in serious disagreement with, but he is my president elect, and will be my president. I will pray for him, and I will pray for the wisdom of our other leaders who work with him. More than that, I will pray for my fellow conservatives who are allowing their bitterness, fear, and anger lead them down the paths of petulance and hate.  Again, I cannot say this often enough: let us lead by the example of our graciousness in defeat, rather than repeat the mistakes of those idiots we have derided for the past 8 years.

Regardless of who’s president - words upon which to think

 (Thanks to Heather!)

By Craig R.

Smith ( not Letterman or Leno)

© 2008

The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe.

It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3s of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I starting thinking, ''What we are so unhappy about?''

Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all involved. Whether you are rich or poor they treat your wounds and even, if necessary, send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home, you may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of having a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes; an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

 

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know.

What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells. Just ask why they are going to allow a murderer like O.J.

Simpson to write a book and do a TV special about how he didn't kill his wife but if he did … insane!

Stop buying the negative venom you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

I close with one of my favorite quotes from B.C. Forbes in 1953:

''What have Americans to be thankful for? More than any other people on the earth, we enjoy complete religious freedom, political freedom, social freedom. Our liberties are sacredly safeguarded by the Constitution of the United States, 'the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.' Yes, we Americans of today have been bequeathed a noble heritage. Let us pray that we may hand it down unsullied to our children and theirs.''

I suggest this Thanksgiving we sit back and count our blessings for all we have. If we don't, what we have will be taken away. Then we will have to explain to future generations why we squandered such blessing and abundance. If we are not careful this generation will be known as the ''greediest and most ungrateful generation.'' A far cry from the proud Americans of the ''greatest generation'' who left us an untarnished legacy.